Audio based systems can be used to present fixed audio sequences for instructional purposes. Such fixed audio sequences can be related to a foreign language or other material to be learned. The fixed audio sequences can be stored on analog tapes or digital files and played on tape players or digital audio players, respectively. Digital audio players can include computers and/or portable devices. The digital audio files can include, but are not limited to mp3, way, aiff, au, vorbis, wma, aac, apple, ape and other lossy and lossless compression formats.
Various formats can be used to present the fixed audio sequences. One such format includes a series of audio content pairs that are presented in a time sequenced order when the audio sequence is played. Each of the audio content pairs include a first audio content played first in the time sequenced order and a second audio content played after the first audio content is played.
For instance, in the case of foreign language instruction, for each audio content pair, the first audio content may be a particular word or phrase in a first language and the second audio content may be the equivalent word or phrase in a second language. Other content may include for each audio content pair a question or other sort of cue for either the first audio content or the second audio content and an answer or other sort of response for the other of the first audio content and the second audio content.
Each audio content pair can include a pause positioned in the time sequenced order between the first audio content and the second audio content of the pair. This type of pause is referred to herein as an intra-pause. Intra-pauses can be used by a hearer to think of or verbalize the second audio content of an audio content pair after the first audio content of the pair has been played but before the second audio content is played.
Pauses can be also placed in the time sequenced order before and after each of the pairs. These pauses are referred to herein as inter-pauses. Inter-pauses are used to separate audio content pairs from one another, but are otherwise typically indistinguishable as to type from intra-pauses other than the differing placement in the time sequence order of the intra-pauses compared with the inter-pauses.
As the fixed audio sequences are initially heard by an individual, all the material may be unfamiliar. After the initial and subsequent presentations of the fixed audio sequences, the material as a whole becomes more familiar to the individual and in particular, some portions of the material are typically learned by the individual more quickly than other portions.
Unfortunately, the fixed audio sequences of the audio tapes and digital audio files remain in the same state to be re-played identically to when they were first heard by the individual rather than being modified to the changing state of learning of the individual. For instance, even though the individual will learn some portions of the material faster than others, the initial fixed order of the audio sequence with the original content selection is continually re-played. Audio content that is already learned by the individual must be heard again in order to hear accompanying audio content that is not yet learned thereby reducing efficiency and effectiveness of the audio based instruction.